Case Study
Land Home Financial Services
“With Land Gorilla we are able to scale growth and deliver on expectations”
Scott Sell
Program Manager, Land Home Financial Services
Delivering Better Customer
Experiences At Scale
Product Offerings:
- FHA 30-year fixed
- Conventional 30-year fixed
- VA 30-year fixed
- Manufactured; Construction to Perm
Solutions:
- Construction Loan ManagerTM
Software (CLM) - Inspection services
Goals:
- Eliminate the manual process
- Inspection service support
- Robust reporting tools
Results:
- Streamlined processes and scaled growth
- Significantly reduced risk
- Gained greater visibility into the loan pipeline
“We are able to deliver a better experience for our customers and manage loans more seamlessly.”
Scott Sell
Program Manager, Land Home Financial Services
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About Land Home Financial Services
Land Home Financial Services is licensed in all 50 states and provides diversified funding options and consistent, superior, personalized service to clients and partners including homebuyers, mortgage brokers, builders, manufactured and modular home retailers, and real estate agents. For more information, visit hfs.com
Introduction
Land Home Financial Services partnered with Land Gorilla when they started experiencing significant loan growth and were looking for a technology platform to eliminate the manual process of managing their construction loans and scale their success.
“Our number one focus and goal is to deliver on our expectations that we set,” said Scott Sell, Program Manager. “Our long-term strategy is to continue to grow in a profitable way. Another focus is to ensure that communication is at a very high level, and everyone is on the same page.”
“With Land Gorilla’s technology solution, we are able to deliver a better experience for our customers and manage loans more seamlessly”
Scott Sell
Program Manager, Land Home Financial Services
The Solution
Land Home was looking for a digital solution to streamline processes, scale growth without increasing headcount, and gain greater visibility into their loan pipeline. “Factory-built housing is a complicated product and the barrier to entry is very steep because of all the moving parts involved in construction lending for manufactured homes,” said Sell. “With Land Gorilla’s software solution, we are able to scale growth and deliver on expectations we set for our team and customers.”
Draw Management
On average, Land Home’s construction and renovation pipeline ranges between 150-200 loans. They have a group of four team members on the Draw Administration team who work with borrowers.
Our loan pipeline is not what it used to be during the early days of Land Home,” said Sell. “The volume of loans then has grown significantly, so we were happy to hear that we were able to use Land Gorilla’s technology to scale our growing program.”
Prior to partnering with Land Gorilla, their draw management process was manual, labor intensive, and time consuming. “To manage loans manually would be a big task, so we are focused on leveraging the software’s capabilities to fully support the construction lending process,” said Hayley Burton, Construction Closing Director, Land Home Financial Services.
As soon as a draw is received from the builder or contractor, a progress inspection is immediately ordered through Land Gorilla. “Once the inspection comes back, we prepare the draw paperwork through Land Gorilla,” said Sell. “We send it out for electronic signature to the borrower and builder all in one workflow.”
“I’m really impressed by how intuitive the software is,” said Sell. “I’m probably average in understanding technology, but I can easily figure it out and get the information I need—it says a lot about how the software works.”
“I’m really impressed by how intuitive the software is”
Scott Sell
Program Manager, Land Home Financial Services
Inspections
In addition to on-site inspections, Land Gorilla offers remote inspections where inspections are completed through video streaming. The inspector directs the property contact on what to inspect, in the same manner that an inspector would conduct if they were on-site.
Land Home utilizes Land Gorilla’s inspection services to schedule and manage inspection orders. “The Land Gorilla inspections team is really good about updating us,” said Burton. “We receive email notifications on the progress of the inspections and more which helps us keep the project moving forward.
“We love the remote inspections that Land Gorilla provides,” said Burton. “It has a very quick turn time and as a result we can order an inspection in the morning and have it completed that same night. The speed in which the inspection is completed is what really drives how quickly the builders get paid.”
“We love the remote inspections that Land Gorilla provides—it has a very quick turn time”
Hayley Burton
Construction Closing Director, Land Home Financial Services
Lien Waivers
Land Home utilizes the lien waiver feature in the Construction Loan ManagerTM. This provides an easy way to create, distribute, execute and collect state-specific lien waivers.
“One of the features I also find very helpful is the lien waiver feature,” said Burton. “Every time we do a draw, title is required to run a property search to verify there’s been no mechanics liens on the property since the last draw. This must be reviewed before funds are released to the contractor or the builder. Land Gorilla’s software makes it easy to facilitate this through automation.”
“Land Gorilla’s software makes lien waivers easy through automation”
Hayley Burton
Construction Closing Director, Land Home Financial Services
“Our volume is an estimated 75% borrower paid interest”
Hayley Burton
Construction Closing Director, Land Home Financial Services
Servicing
Land Home also uses Land Gorilla’s Servicing Platform to produce monthly interest statements that are sent to their customers. “We use the platform for our construction interest statements every month,” said Burton. “Our volume is an estimated 75% borrower paid interest.”
Reporting
“We have to manage risk very carefully to make sure we’re positioning ourselves for success in the long term,” said Sell. “The reporting that our Draw Administration team uses in Land Gorilla’s software allows us to identify any risk early on and be proactive.”
Land Home utilizes the reporting and dashboard feature for loan pipeline reporting. “We can really customize the reporting feature for our needs,” said Burton. “For example, we pull reports to find out the time since the last draw on a project—this helps us to identify any actions needed to prevent delays. I can create and pull any type of report anytime on the fly to see where a project stands.”
“Land Gorilla’s software allows us to identify any risk early on and be proactive”
Scott Sell
Construction Closing Director, Land Home Financial Services
Land Gorilla Partnership
Since partnering with Land Gorilla, Land Home has been able to scale their growth resulting in a significant increase of loan volume.
“Working with Land Gorilla and the solutions they provide has been phenomenal,” said Burton. “We wouldn’t be able to grow and do what we do now without the platform. Every aspect of it works the way that it should work—it’s a system that is just really simple to use and easy for the user to engage in.”
“Things are always changing within the construction manufactured home industry and within this program the biggest bottleneck is manufacturing turn times,” said Sell. “We have multiple parties involved including the builder, the dealer and the manufacturer that plays into the risk category a great deal. Having everyone on the same page and coordinating between all the moving pieces is key. I believe with Land Gorilla’s technology solution, we are able to deliver a better experience for our customers and manage loans more seamlessly.”
“I’m very happy to be working with Land Gorilla, it’s a great partnership,” said Sell. “The response times have been very quick and they’re accommodating to any types of issues that come up and are very eager and willing to work through those issues.”
“I’m very, very pleased with Land Gorilla overall,” concluded Burton. “Anytime I have concerns or questions, Land Gorilla will get right back to me immediately with solutions.”
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